Judge rules that poker is a game of skill. Poker pro says: Duh.

[Dylan O'Connor]

Author's Main Idea: "Poker is a strategy game, requiring logic, mathematics, psychology and intuition to play well. This statement is hardly debatable — but it was still nice to hear a federal judge agree with it."

In My Own Words: There is no reason that that poker should be illegal. Which is why poker players across the country appreciated the ruling in favor of the game earlier this month.

In a Washington Post article published on Friday, Matt Matros discussed his opinion of a court ruling regarding the game of poker, in his aptly named article, Judge rules that poker is a game of skill. Poker pro says: Duh. It seems that the issue was whether or not poker is a form of gambling, and as an active poker player, Matros believes the idea of outlawing poker as a form of gambling is ridiculous. Had the ruling gone in the opposite direction, even friendly household games would have been affected. I too, feel that this would be a terrible decision, after all the game is not blind, it requires a significant amount of skill. That is not to say that luck is not involved, however luck is involved in nearly every endeavor known to man. How different is poker from the calculated risks taken by investors daily? Despite a victory for avid poker players, the question is, ‘Why was the legallity of the game ever questioned in the first place?’